Zeup Press Kit

Zeup (pronounced "soup") was formed in 2018 by Jakob Bach (guitar, vocals), Morten Rold (bass, backing vocals) and Morten Barth (drums). The three Copenhageners share a passion for honest "analogue-sounding" rock songs. The musical style of Zeup contains elements of stoner rock, punk rock, and grunge, and it is obvious that the band’s song writing draws on the legacy of rock icons of the 70s such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

Although Zeup is a relatively new band, the members have plenty of experience from other metal bands; Morten Barth was the drummer of Danish heavy metal band Wasted back in the mid-80s, and Morten Rold was the guitarist in Beyond Serenity when they were part of the Danish metal scene in the 90s.

In October 2019, Zeup recorded a 3-song demo EP at the legendary Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen (Metallica recorded Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets there!). The following year, the band returned to the same studio to record the EP Blind. The EP is unmistakably Zeup; heavy guitar riffs, lots of groove and energy – all wrapped up in a warm and organic-sounding production.

The band's first full-length album Mammals was released in January 2023 on the Swedish label Ozium Records. The album contains several examples of Zeup's recognizable straight-to-the-point metal-rock, but it also shows a more experimental side of Zeup’s music, including two instrumental tracks. The band's lyrics revolve around topics such as existence, social structures, and inner demons.

Just 10 months after the release of Mammals, Zeup released the EP Roads containing four new songs. On the EP—which was recorded at Media Sound with Peter Brander at the desk—the band experiments with a new sound that is more direct and punchier than on the previous releases. Roads was produced by the band and released on their own record label.

Zeup insists on recording their music "live in the studio" involving minimum use of click tracks, samples, auto-tune or other digital magic tricks. Only very few bands use this old school approach nowadays. The result are very authentic and dirty-sounding rock songs.

However, it is not only in the studio that Zeup has been busy. The trio has several successful concerts behind them; with Danish fellow stoners The Sledge and Sonic Moon, as well as support gigs for Unida (US) and Kira Mac (UK).

Zeup (udtales som det engelske ord for "suppe") blev dannet i 2018 af Jakob Bach (guitar, vokal), Morten Rold (bas, kor) og Morten Barth (trommer). De tre københavnere deler en fælles passion for tung analog rockmusik. Zeups musik indeholder elementer fra både stoner rock, punk og grunge, og indimellem finder man musikalske referencer til 70’ernes rockikoner Black Sabbath og Led Zeppelin.

Selvom Zeup er en forholdsvis ny konstellation, er der tale om tre modne herrer, der har masser af erfaring fra den danske metalundergrund. Eksempelvis sad Morten Barth i midten af 80’erne bag trommerne i bandet Wasted, og Morten Rold var guitarist i Beyond Serenity, da de var aktive tilbage i 90’erne.

I oktober 2019 indspillede Zeup debut-demoen A Taste of Zeup i det legendariske Sweet Silence Studios. Året efter vendte bandet tilbage til samme studie for at indspille EP’en Blind. EP’ens fire sange lyder umiskendeligt som Zeup; tunge guitarriffs, masser af groove og energi – alt sammen pakket ind i en varm og organisk-lydende produktion.

Bandets første fuldlængde album, Mammals, udkom i januar 2023 på det svenske pladeselskab Ozium Records. Albummet indeholder flere eksempler på Zeups genkendelige straight-to-the-point metal-rock, men der er også blevet plads til at vise mere eksperimenterende sider af bandets musik, herunder to instrumentalnumre. Bandets tekster kredser om emner som eksistens, samfundsforhold og indre dæmoner.

Blot 10 måneder efter udgivelsen af Mammals udgav Zeup EP’en Roads indeholdende fire nye sange. På EP’en, der blev indspillet i Media Sound med Peter Brander ved pulten, eksperimenterer bandet med en ny lyd, der er mere direkte og kontant end på de tidligere udgivelser. Roads er produceret af bandet selv og udgivet på deres eget pladeselskab.

Zeup insisterer på at indspille deres musik ”live i studiet” med minimal brug af click tracks, samples, auto-tune eller andre moderne trylletricks. En fremgangsmåde som kun ganske få bands benytter sig af i vore dage. Ifølge bandet selv opnår man på denne måde en mere ægte og nærværende lyd, der er ”beskidt på den fede måde”.

Det er imidlertid ikke kun i studiet, at Zeup har haft travlt. Trioen har flere succesfulde koncerter bag sig, blandt andet sammen med de danske stoner-kolleger The Sledge og Sonic Moon, samt support-gigs for amerikanske Unida og engelske Kira Mac.